MTX Modular Building System chosen for a new 48 bed critical care building at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford
Modular building specialist MTX Contracts Ltd has begun work at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to erect a new 48-bed critical care building.
The new building will triple the number of ICU beds for seriously ill patients. The hospital currently has 16 dedicated adult ICU beds at the hospital and during the pandemic, other beds have also been used for intensive care.
The £29m building is part of a regional approach for managing critical care demand and activity through the COVID-19 pandemic and will also support and alleviate future seasonal and epidemic pressures for the Trust. The first phase of the project is due for completion in Spring 2021, with full completion later in the year.
Current plans are for 5 floors (3 clinical, 1 for storage and plant and 1 non-clinical), improved storage facilities, a seminar room, a staff room, and additional office space.
The planning application for the new building stressed that the newly-created Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System (BOB ICS), ‘urgently requires increased critical care capacity to cover the South East region’.
The planning statement added: “Given the ongoing nature of the pandemic, the increase in critical care capacity must happen at speed.”
Modular buildings are increasingly used by healthcare Trusts to provide additional facilities in shorter time scales. MTX’s Managing Director David Hartley explains; “The MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) approach enables us to quickly deliver high quality new hospital facilities cost effectively. Our modular buildings supplied to healthcare Trusts are specifically created for medical use, with mechanical ventilation systems designed to optimise clean air flow and meet clinical needs.”
The John Radcliffe Hospital (JR) is Oxfordshire’s main accident and emergency site and provides acute medical and surgical services including trauma, intensive care, and cardiothoracic services.
Dr Bruno Holthof, Chief Executive Officer at the OUH Trust said “We are incredibly pleased about this new building. Not only will it improve our critical care environment, but it will help us in planning for future demands on our services.”